Is DeMarco Murray a Good Fit for the Miami Dolphins?

With the news that the Miami Dolphins will be hosting DeMarco
Murray over the next couple days I wanted to take the time to break down the pros
and cons of any potential signing here for the Dolphins. As I have seen mixed
reaction just to the news that Miami is meeting with Murray.

PROS

He is a running back who just turned 30 years old a month ago who has a track record of success on the football field. He is a 3-time pro bowl player (his last appearance being in 2016) who has had multiple 1,000- yard seasons.

He is someone Miami doesn’t have to worry about as a pass blocker. The risk when depending on a rookie running back should Miami draft one is that they may be able to play right away but they may not be able to play on 3rd down right away. The most challenging thing for a rookie running back to adjust to in the NFL is adjusting to their responsibility in the pass blocking aspect of the game. With Murray you will not have to worry about that.

He is a dual threat and has good hands and the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. We have all read and heard for years how Adam Gase likes running backs with soft hands who can catch the ball. Murray has multiple seasons where he catches about 40-60 passes regularly.

Jim Wyatt who has covered the Titans since 1999 said recently that Murray is a leader. He is someone who when he arrived at the Titans helped immediately “change the culture” (where have we heard that phrase before) of the Titans locker-room. With what Miami has publicly stated this offseason about the “culture change” the signing of Murray may be more than what he can give you on the football field.

He is now 30 years old and will start to be on the downside of his career. We see in this league running backs do start to slow down after they hit that magical number of 30 years of age. And Murray is someone who has been a work horse consistently since 2012. How much tread is left on that tire? We don’t know.

Is this signing like the Arian Foster signing a couple years back? Is Miami signing a running back who is coming off his worse year as a pro and who’s best days are behind him?

Speaking of worse year in 2017 Murray did not have a great season by any stretch last year. Yes, he was asked to split time with Derrick Henry so his work load was cut in half. Still though, 3.6 YPC and only 659 yards also a career low. In this league you are only as good as your last season and nobody cares what you did two or three years ago. The word out of Tennessee was last year Murray lost the ability to make defenders to miss in the hole.

While he doesn’t miss games he always seems to have a nagging injury. He get’s credit for showing up and playing each week but throughout his career he is pretty much always on the injury report with “something.” He never seems to be fully healthy and now as he is entering his 30’s you would think this might be an issue that only gets worse.

There is a lot to think about here with the possibility of Miami
signing DeMarco Murray and you can make a case either way for it. Obviously,
money will play a factor here as I don’t think Miami wants to break the bank on
a player who will at best split time in the backfield with Kenyan Drake. If
Miami can get Murray on a short team friendly deal, then it does make sense to
maybe give it a shot with him. Have all the guaranteed money or a clear
majority of it be in year 1 so the team can move on from him after just one
season should the cons I listed with Murray rear its ugly head.

Also, the signing of Murray doesn’t prevent Miami from
drafting a running back in next months draft. What it does do is maybe let
Miami not feel like they must draft a running back in the early rounds though. With Drake and Murray Miami could then focus
their early round picks on other pressing needs like linebacker, tight end,
quarterback. And then take a flyer on a late round running back as someone who
they won’t necessarily need to contribute a lot in year one.

I know some fans love the fact Miami is in play for Murray and
others don’t love the idea so much. I am a bit on the fence honestly at this
point. If Miami can get Murray at the right price and for a team friendly deal
I am for it. As I think having a proven vet like Murray around Drake can only
help Drake and his progression of an NFL player. And I think Murray probably
has 1 or 2 years left where he can contribute on the field and help a team win
games.

So, if the money is right and as a short-term fix I would have
no issue with the Dolphins signing DeMarco Murray.

3 Comments

Why? What justifies Damian Williams being a better option than DeMarco Murray for the Dolphins? Murray is a better runner, receiver, and blocker… Don't give the reason that Murray is injury prone because he's not… he has only missed 2 games last season, no games the season before that, 2 games in 15, and no games in 14… so that argument is fabricated.

I would take DeMarco over Damian any day, the only thing Damian has is he also plays on Special Teams. I was not impressed last year when he was given the opportunity to start, he is a good special team player.